[tri-med] Re: trisomy euthanasia

On Feb 26, 2006, at 3:50 PM, Meierlaw wrote:

> " Why perform life-prolonging surgery on a trisomy 13/18 child"
>
> Many reasons:

Aimee, thanks for your powerful words.  I'm keeping this email on  
file--it is SO true!!!
>
> And let me tell you, having just
> lost a child at three days of age - whose outcome was fixed because  
> her
> heart was so bad that only a heart transplant could have saved her  
> - it
> doesn't matter.  Regan's life still had great value and we gained  
> much from
> having known her.  Every minute we gained from the medical  
> intervention she
> did receive was a gift.

I just heard of a case of "the youngest heart transplant" done on a  
newborn. The reporter was so excited about it and the parents talked  
of the dreams and hopes they now had for their little boy, even  
though he'd be on medication for the rest of his life.  I'm afraid my  
response was incredibly cynical.  All I could think was, "If that had  
been a trisomy baby they wouldn't have even considered a transplant."  
And even the parents' excitement seemed unrealistic.  Heart  
transplants don't last forever! My brother-in-law's little sister had  
a heart transplant at four years old and lived four more years, and  
that was considered a very good outcome.  So, why can't a transplant  
be done on a trisomy child when the outcome could be just as long as  
that on a "normal" child?

Anyway, just my added rant...

Loren (wife to Kraig, mom to Keren Elyse, T18, 3 years old!  
(9/27/02), and Clarissa Joanne (7/17/05) )
Southeast Michigan
http://webpages.eng.wayne.edu/~ad6075



                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
                  Families Helping Families On-line

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